Rihanna is set to perform at the Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona on February 12, as the NFL marks the first year of a new deal with Apple Music as the primary sponsor of the halftime show, replacing Pepsi. .
It will be the first scheduled return to the stage for the artist, who performed publicly at the Grammy Awards in early 2018 and released his latest solo album, Anti, in January 2016.
Oliver Schusser, vice president of Apple Music and Beats at Apple, said:
The announcement comes after the artist declined an invitation to perform on football’s biggest stage to support former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has been unable to find a new team since becoming a free agent. For a singer who used to be alone, it’s a change of direction. March 2017. Kaepernick accused the league of blackballing him for kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality against blacks.
In the face of player protests and the show’s imminent loss of fame, in 2019 the NFL signed rapper entertainment and sports company Jay-Z and Roc Nation as “live music entertainment strategists” to supervise the Super Bowl. Contribute to Inspire Change, the halftime show and the league’s activist campaign.
Rihanna is managed by Roc Nation and signed to that record label. company website.
The halftime show in Inglewood, California last February was the third show under the auspices of Roc Nation. Hometown rap icons Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and singer Mary J. Blige delivered well-received performances that outdone rapper Eminem. In what appeared to be a reference to Kaepernick’s protest, Eminem fell to his knees after performing “Lose Yourself” in a move anticipated by NFL officials who saw him perform it in rehearsals.
Since her last album was released, Rihanna has made intermittent guest appearances on a handful of singles by other artists, including DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts,” which peaked at number two on the Billboard charts in 2017. I’ve been performing. new music teased No one realized, but her own.
As a result, Rihanna’s ninth studio album takes on an almost mythical quality among fans. Although her fans regularly refer to her as “R9,” the singer instead focuses on her business empire, which includes Savage x Fenty. The lingerie brand and skincare and makeup line that contributed to her $1.7 billion net worth, 2021 predictions by Forbes.
Rihanna welcomed her first child with rapper A$AP Rocky earlier this year.
In a 2019 interview with T Magazine, the singer of hits like “Umbrella” and “We Found Love” joked about the name fans gave him, while joking that the new album would be reggae like it’s long been rumored. “We’re probably going to call it, ‘When’s R9, R9, R9 coming out? How can you accept another name that’s burned into your skull?'”
Recently, Rihanna told vogue“I’m looking at my next project completely differently than I’ve previously wanted to publish,” adding, “It’s authentic, it’s fun for me, and it takes a lot of pressure off of me. ”